Four-way tie for North Bay League volleyball title

After seven weeks of competition, the North Bay League volleyball season ended Thursday night with four teams sharing the title.

Finishing with identical 11-3 records were Cardinal Newman, Maria Carrillo, Montgomery and Windsor.

To make it a four-way tie, the following happened Thursday night:

Cardinal Newman defeated Maria Carrillo (25-21, 25-16, 22-25, 25-20)

Montgomery defeated Ukiah (25-11, 25-8, 18-25, 25-11)

Windsor defeated Rancho Cotate (25-21, 25-18, 25-12)

Players from Montgomery and Windsor rushed to the Cardinal Newman gym after finishing their matches and arrived in time to see the Cardinals finish off the Pumas.

Members of the four teams, still in uniform, then posed for a group picture on the court.

“The way the final night of league turned out was the best possible scenario because on any given night, one of these teams could've beaten any one of the others,” Windsor coach Rich Schwarz said.

“All four are deserving of a championship banner to hang in their gym.”

If one team was disappointed in the final night's results, it was Maria Carrillo. The Pumas could've taken sole possession of the crown had they beaten the Cardinals.

“Newman has a stronger offense than we have,” Carrillo coach Ally Deal said. “We couldn't stop their big hitter (Lauren) Jannicelli. It seemed like every time she touched the ball, she got a kill.”

Jannicelli finished with a season-high 21 putaways. Teammate Cassie Killeen also had a season-high 18 kills.

Natalie Codding was all over the court collecting 50 digs while Megan Vice dished out 48 assists.

“The whole team played spectacular,” Cardinals coach Jeff Nielson said. “Defensively, it was the best we've played all season. Also, we served well all night.”

This was the first volleyball title won by a Cardinals team and Nielson said he believes no Ursuline team ever finished in first place before the girls' school merged with Newman.

“I'm so proud of what this team accomplished,” Nielson said. “The girls bought into what we wanted to teach them.”

The Cardinals will take a 25-8 record into next week's North Coast Section tournament.

Maria Carrillo will also go to the postseason with a record of 20-6.

Amanda Wright led the attack against the Cardinals with 11 kills. Gabbie Picano and Ashley Jacob finished with eight each. Payton Jones came up with 32 digs and Jacob had 27.

Windsor had no problem handling Rancho Cotate, although the team played lackadaisically the first two sets.

“They started playing much harder when they heard Newman won the first two sets from Carrillo,” Coach Schwarz said. “The first two sets, we played with not much enthusiasm.”

Allison Post led the offense with 17 kills, eight digs and three aces. Bridget Aikawa's line read 25 assists, seven digs, five kills and two aces.

Kylie Benjamin picked up 18 digs and Kaitlyn Alger wound up with 11 assists and 12 service points.

At Montgomery, Mckenna LaForge led the way with 24 kills, 19 digs and two blocks.

Logan Peck (12 kills) and Rajan Uppal (nine kills) also played big roles in the offense.

“The girls knew what was at stake and came out focused and ready,” Vikings coach Becky Stavropoulos said. “They just came out and took care of business.”

The Vikings will take a 22-6 record to the postseason.

For Ukiah (13-14 and 5-9), Emily Eaton led the way with 12 kills. She was followed by Gabriella Petersen with nine putaways for the Eagles.

SONOMA VALLEY 3, PETALUMA 1

At Sonoma Valley, the Dragons claimed first place in the SCL Tournament for the eighth year in a row.

The scores were 27-25, 25-20, 23-25 and 25-13.

“This was the best match the team has played all season,” coach Chelsea Scott said.

Jenna Mak was the offensive leader with 24 kills and 16 digs. Raegan Cordero had 47 assists.